PM announces Rs1 million compensation for Parachinar attack victims

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Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday announced Rs1 million compensation for each family of the victims of the Parachinar attack which claimed at least 72 lives.

The premier also announced a compensation of Rs0.5m for those injured in the twin bombings. Over 70 people were killed in Parachinar in two back-to-back blasts targeting Al-Quds rally in the Turi Market area and the hospital where the deceased and injured were being shifted to after the first blast.

Meanwhile, protests against the twin bombings continued in the city and elsewhere in the country for a sixth consecutive day on Wednesday.

More people from nearby villages joined the sit-in in Parachinar, where protesters dressed in shrouds chanted slogans demanding justice and threatening mass suicide if their call went unheeded. The protests erupted after security personnel opened fire on a rally demanding justice for Parachinar attack victims.

Addressing the protest, the head of the Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen said he had a detailed meeting with the army chief which had a positive outcome. He added that firing upon protesters had become a serious concern. He warned that the protests would spread throughout the country if justice was not served.

Saad Edhi, the grandson of the late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, visited the protest camp and announced the opening of an Edhi centre in Parachinar to provide immediate relief to residents of the city in case of an emergency.

He lamented that despite repeated terror attacks and mass casualties, there is lack of facilities in local hospitals due to which they are unable to cope with any emergency-like situation.